Apparatus for starting and terminating a toy vehicle race

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is described for starting and terminating a race between toy vehicles traveling over a toy track. A start-finish track section is provided with vehicle stalls which are successively arranged to receive arriving vehicles at the end of a race. Stall selectors are employed which are operated in sequence at the end of the race to divert the arriving vehicles into successive stalls in the order of vehicle arrival at the start-finish track section. The vehicle stalls are provided with vehicle retaining devices which are controllable at the start of the race to release selected vehicles retained by the stalls.

United States Patent Cooper et al.

[ July4,1972

[54] APPARATUS FOR STARTING AND TERMINATING A TOY VEHICLE RACE [72]inventors: Julius Cooper, New Hyde Park; Edwin A.

Nielsen, Oceanside, both of NY.

[52] US. Cl. ..273/86 R, 46/1 K, 104/60 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63f 9/14 [58]Field of Search ..273/86 R, 86 B; 46/202, 1 K; 104/60; 238/10 A, 10 E,10 F [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,135,068 6/1964Einfalt ..46/202 3,071,377 1/1963 Willett ..273/86 R 3,481,279 12/1969Cooper 104/60 3,456,596 7/1969 Cooper... ..104/60 3,413,754 12/1968Einfalt ..104/6O X Primary ExaminerAnton 0. Oechsle Attorney-Richard M.Rabkin [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus is described for starting andterminating a race between toy vehicles traveling over a toy track. Astart-finish track section is provided with vehicle stalls which aresuccessively arranged to receive arriving vehicles at the end of a race.Stall selectors are employed which are operated in sequence at the endof the race to divert the arriving vehicles into successive stalls inthe order of vehicle arrival at the startfinish track section. Thevehicle stalls are provided with vehi- 4 Claims, 11 Drawing FiguresPATENTEBJUL 4 I912 SHEET NF 7 PKTENTEDJIJU4 1972 SHEET 2 OF 7 ME Y BPATENTEDJUL' 4 1972 SHEET 5 BF 7 INVENTORS quuus COOPER fl EDWINA.NEILSEN SHEET 6 OF 7 PATENTEUJUL '4 [972 9 a NM mom P'A'TENTEDJuL' 4I972 SHEET 7 UF 7 INVENTORS JULIUS COOPER EDNIN A. NEILSEN By M 78mmAPPARATUS FOR STARTING AND TERMINATING A TOY VEHICLE RACE BACKGROUND ANDSUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to a mechanismfor registering the results of a toy vehicle race in an automaticmanner. More specifically, this invention relates to a mechanism forcontrolling the start and finish of a toy racing game.

Automatic racing games have achieved a wide degree of popularity withboth adults and children. Such games usually include a miniature trackassembly of interconnectable and interchangeable track sections whichare capable of being arranged in a variety of track layouts or courses.Usually the play of the game involves the use of one or more miniaturecars, each of which has a speed controller which enables the operator tomake his vehicle traverse the race course at varying speeds. The winnerof any given race is determined by the elapsed time for traveling theparticular race course. Typical installations usually have plural racinglanes of approximately the same length. The finish of a race is commonlydetermined by the elapsed time for traversing the track. The traversaltime, however, may be subject to dispute and may lack the exactnessdemanded by competitive play.

In an apparatus in accordance with the invention, a mechanism isprovided whereby vehicles racing along a track towards a finish line arediverted into vehicle retaining stalls according to the order of thevehicle arrivals at the finish line.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, access to the vehicleretaining stalls is controlled by vehicle actuated stall selectorsinterposed between the stalls and the racetrack. The stall selectors arelocated to divert arriving vehicles to stalls in the order of vehiclearrival. Thus, for instance, a first arriving vehicle is diverted onto afirst stall, and upon entering such stall actuates a stall selectorwhich directs the next vehicle onto the next successive stall, and soon, so that upon completion of a race all vehicles are lodged in stallsin an order corresponding to the results of the race.

A vehicle release mechanism is employed whereby vehicle retentiondevices may be simultaneously actuated to release the vehicles totraverse the track at the start of a race. Vehicle release isaccompanied by automatic reset of the stall selectors. When the vehiclesare traversing the race course for the last lap, a finish lever isactuated to divert the racing vehicles towards the finish line formed bythe stalls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of anexemplary racetrack utilizing a start-finish mechanism in accordancewith the invention.

FIG. 2 is a broken perspective view of a portion of the racetrack and avehicle mounted thereon for racing along the track.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the start-finish mechanism of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of separated start andfinish sections forming the start-finish mechanism shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged top plan view of the stall electors of thestart-finish mechanism shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the start-finishmechanism shown in FIG. 5, with a top member broken away to illustrate astall selector in detail.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of a start sectionemployed in the start-finish mechanism shown in FIG. 3, with an upperplate partially broken away to illustrate a vehicle retaining deviceused in a stall.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a retaining device used in astall.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are partial top plan views of the start section withelements thereof shown in different operational states.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the start-finish section with vehicles inposition at the end of a race.

The same reference characters refer to the same element throughout theseveral views of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to thedrawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, a toy track layout 10, typical ofmany, is fonned by a plurality of connected track sections 12. The tracksections 12 are provided with a race course including a pair oflane-defining grooves 14-14 which are aligned with one another to form apair of parallel continuous inner and outer toy vehicle race lanes whentrack sections 12 are connected. Selected track sections such as 18 may.be formed with lane cross-overs to enable the vehicles to travel frominner lane 14 to the outer lane 14' and vice versa. Toy vehicle track 10is preferably formed in the manner more specifically described in acopending U. S. Pat. application entitled Vehicle Racing Games, filed byJulius Cooper and Erwin Benkoe and identified as Ser. No. 868,449, filedon Oct. 22, 1969, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

With a toy vehicle racetrack as described in the above identified patentapplication, a vehicle 20 such as is illustrated in FIG. 2 is providedto traverse the grooved lanes 14 or 14' of the track sections. Eachvehicle 20 is provided with a depending lane follower 22 which is shapedin the form of a pin to follow the grooves along the inner or outer racecourses 14-14 The vehicle 20 may be self-propelled by an internalelectric motor and battery power supply in a manner which is not a partof this invention and is well known in the art.

An advantageous feature of the track 10 is a start-finish device 24which enables vehicles to be simultaneously launched onto the racinglanes 14-l4', and also provides a finish line which determines the orderof finish of the vehicles at the end of a race. The start-finish device24 includes a number of successive vehicle retaining stalls 26.1 through26.4. The vehicle retaining stalls 26 include vehicle guideways 28.1through 28.4 and 30-30 which couple the stalls 26 to racing lanes14--14'. The start of a race is commenced by launching vehicles alongthese guideways 28 and racing lanes 14-14 in the direction of arrow 29,and a race is ended by diverting vehicles from the racing lanes 14-14through guideways 30-30 to vehicle stalls 26. The stalls 26 thusfunction as a starting gate and as a finish line for the racingvehicles. A start lever 32 is provided to initiate simultaneous vehiclelaunching from the stalls 26, and the finish lever 34 controls thediversion of the racing vehicles from race lanes 14- 14' towards stalls26.

While the vehicles are racing around the track tocomplete the number oflaps desired, the players attempt to divert their respective vehiclesinto the shorter and inner race lane 14 ahead of the opponents vehicle,thus forcing him to take the longer outer race lane 14' for passing.When the vehicles are on the last lap, finish lever 34 is actuated todivert them to stalls 26.1 through 26.4, which the vehicles respectivelyenter in that order, in accordance with their order of arrival. As soonas the last vehicle has arrived in a stall, start lever 32 may be againactuated to launch vehicles onto the track and thus repeat several racesin as hectic and quick a manner as the speed of the vehicles and thedexterity of the players permit.

The start-finish track device 24 is illustrated in greater detail inFIGS. 3 and 4. This device is formed of two separable portions: a startsection 40 and a finish section 42 which are secured together (as areall the sections of track 10) by elements (for example elements 15)which interengage in response to a pivoting motion of the track sections(see arrow 17) as is well known in the toy field. Vehicles are guided toall the stalls 26 by a common vehicle guideway 44 coupled to guideways30-30 and to the entrance of each stall 26. Entrance to the stalls iscontrolled by stall selectors 46 which are pivotally mounted on pins 47.One end 48 of each stall selector 46 is a trip lever which extends intoone of the vehicle stalls 26 for actuation by the follower pin 22 of anentering vehicle, and the other end 49 of each stall selector 46 is avehicle diverter located at the junction of the common vehicle guideway44 and one of the stalls 26. The vehicle diverter ends 49 of the stallselectors 46 are in the form of switch blocks which, in the positions asshown in FIG. 3, allow the leading vehicle to reach stall 26.1. As soonas the leading vehicle enters stall 26.1, the trip lever end 48 of stallselector 46.1 is pivoted counterclockwise to bring its switch block 49into the common guideway 44, thus diverting the follower pin 22 of thenext arriving vehicle in a manner to close stall 26.1 and open vehiclestall 26.2. Stall selectors 46.2 and 46.3 respond in the same way tovehicles entering stalls 26.2 and 26.3 respectively, to close thosestalls and open stalls 26.3 and 26.4 respectively.

Each stall 26 is provided with a pivotally mounted vehicle braking arm50 that swings into a grooved guideway 28 to form a braking wedge forthe follower pin 22 of a vehicle 20. The brake arms 50 may be shaped totrip a vehicle mounted switch (not shown) and disconnect electricalpower from the vehicle motor drive.

A start slide 52 is located below the top plate 64 of start section 40,and operates brake arms 50 in response to actuation of start lever 32.Start slide 52 is mounted for movement in the directions indicated byarrows 54-54 (FIGS. and 8). Start slide 52 is provided with bent camslots 56.1 through 56.4 which are engaged by pins 58 located on brakearms 50. The brake arms 50 are mounted for horizontal pivot movementabout pivots 60.

The start-finish device 24 has a generally flat multilayered structuralshape for stable mounting on the ground. The upper plate 64 of startsection 40, and the upper plate 67 of finish section 42, are providedwith the grooved racing lanes 14- 14 and guideways 28, 30 and 44. Startslide 52 forms a movable bottom plate which is slidably suspended fromupper plate 64 by slide pins 61 which engage straight slots 63 in thestart slide 52, which are oriented to define the direction of movementof the slide. Brake arms 50 and stall selectors 46 form an intermediatelayer, and rest on the slide 52. The slide is spring loaded in thevehicle retaining position by a spring 65. In FIGS. 5 and 6 thestructural features of the stall selectors 46 are illustrated in greaterdetail. Each stall selector 46 is fonned with a flat plate 62 whichrests on start slide 52 and is pivotally engaged by the upper plate 64of the start section 40. The pivot pin 47 extends downwardly from upperplate 64 to engage a hollow in a cylindrical post 68 mounted generallymidway of stall selector plate 62.

The trip lever ends 48 of the stall selectors 46 protrude throughcut-outs 70 in side walls 72 of the guideways 28 for actuation by thefollower pin 22 on a vehicle 20. Trip lever end 48 is formed with anextended raised edge 74 which is curved parallel with the curvature ofthe guideway 28 at the cut-out 70. A raised vehicle post 76 is locatedat the end of edge 74 facing oncoming vehicles, to assure vehicleengagement with the stall selector 46.

Each selector 46 is normally pivoted to a reset position as illustratedin FIG. 6, whereby its trip lever end 48 protrudes into the associatedguideway 28. When a vehicle enters that guideway, the trip lever end 48is pivoted counterclockwise until edge 74 is flush with side wall 72.The side wall 72 is cut away to from a V-shaped recess 80 which receivesthe post 76 to clear guideway 28 and allow the vehicle to enter stall26.

Each plate 62, e.g. that of stall selector 46.2, is so shaped that itsswitch block end extends to the junction of common guideway 44 and thenext succeeding guideway, i.e. 28.3. Each switch block 49 is shaped toprovide a non-diverting surface 82 aligned with wall 84 of commonguideway 44 when the stall selector 46 is pivoted to an extremeclockwise (i.e. reset) position. When the stall selector is pivoted toan extreme counterclockwise, or tripped, position as indicated in shortdashed lines in FIG. 5, a diverter surface 86 e.g. of selector 46.1 isaligned with wall 88 of the next guideway 28.2, and protrudes intocommon guideway 44 to direct oncoming vehicles towards vehicle stall26.2

Resetting of tripped stall selectors 46 is achieved by engagementbetween the switch block end of plate 62 and the slide plate 52 as thelatter is operated in the direction of arrow 54, i.e. from vehiclerelease to vehicle retaining position. This engagement is achieved byslide plate protrusions 90 formed on the boundary of an internal opening91 cut into the slide plate 52, and extending towards each selectorplate 62. As slide plate 52 is moved, these protrusions 90 contact theirrespective plates 62 and pivot all the stall selectors 46 clockwise totheir reset positions.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate a typical stall such as 26.4 in greater detail.The brake arm 50.4 thereof is formed of a flat plate resting on startslide 52, and pivotally engaged with top plate 64 of start section 40. Apivot pin 60.4 extends from brake arm plate 100 into a recess 102 in topplate 62. A brake edge 104 extends upwardly from the plate 100, and whenthe plate 100 pivots the edge 104 may be moved through a cut-out 106 inside wall 88 of guideway 28.4 in either direction to stop or release avehicle.

The brake arm 50.4 is positioned over cam slot 56.4 with which it isengaged by means of a depending pin 58.4. The cam slot 56.4 includes anidle segment 108 which is parallel with the direction of motion of startslide 52, and trailing active segment 110 which is slanted to causepivotal movement of stop arm 50 in the directions indicated by arrowsIII-- 111. Thus, for motion of start slide 52 in the direction of arrow54 when pin 58.4 is at the location in cam slot 56.4 illustrated in FIG.8, the brake arm is pivoted clockwise about pin 60.4 when pin 58.4engages the active cam slot segment 110. Each vehicle stall further isprovided with guide edges such as 112 located alongside the brake arms50 and angled to decelerate rapidly arriving vehicles.

Returning to the view of FIG. 3, it can be seen that the cam slots 56are shaped to provide selective control as to which pair of stalls 26are to be actuated. Cam slots 56.1 and 56.2 are each formed with an idlesegment 114 which is parallel with the direction of movement of slide52, and a leading rather than a trailing active segment 116 oriented tocause pivotal movement of brake arms 50.1 and 50.2. As to cam slots 56.3and 56.4, however, their active segments 110 trail their idle segments108. As a result, either all stalls 26 are in the vehicle retainingstate (for the start slide position illustrated in FIG. 3, i.e. pins 58at the lead ends of slots 56), or only stalls 26.1 and 26.2 are in thevehicle release state (for the start slide position illustrated in FIG.9, when pins 58 are between the idle and active segments of slots 56),or all stalls are in the vehicle release state (for the start slideposition illustrated in FIG. 10, when pins 58 are at the trailing endsof slots 56).

Placement of start slide 52 is controlled by start lever 32 which (asshown in FIG. 3) is pivotally mounted upon start section 40 by pin 124for movement in a horizontal plane. One end of lever 32 is provided witha pin 126 which engages a slot 128 in the start slide 52. With the startlever 32 pivoted to the illustrated extreme counterclockwise position(FIG. 3), the start slide is at a position such that all brake arms 50have been pivoted to a vehicle retaining position as shown in FIG. 3.

When the start lever 32 is pivoted to the FIG. 9 position 120, startslide 52 is moved to a position which causes pins 58.1 and 58.2 totraverse the active segments 116 of cam slots 56.1 and 56.2, while pins58.3 and 58.4 merely traverse parallel cam slot segments 108. Thus onlystalls 26.1 and 26.2 are opened to release their vehicles to racing lane14'.

Continued pivotal movement of start lever 32 to the position illustratedin FIG. 10 causes the start slide 52 to bring pins 58.3 and 58.4 intooperative engagement with active cam slot segments 110, opening theremaining stalls 26.3 and 26.4. Reverse (i.e. clockwise) movement ofstart lever 32 causes closure of stalls 26.3 and 26.4 first, and then ofthe remaining stalls.

Returning to FIGS. 3 and 4, finish section 42 is of flat constructionsimilar to start section 40. A finish slide 124 is mounted below theupper surface of section 42 and slidably mounted to the upper surfacewith rivets 126 engaging main guide slots 128. These main guide slotsare aligned to guide the finish slide along the directions indicated byarrows 130.

Finish slide 124 traverses the facing lanes 14-14' at their junctionswith guideways 30-30 respectively. Upstanding switch elements 132-132are mounted and oriented on finish slide 120 for movement therewith intoracing lanes 14- 14' respectively when the race is to be ended.

Finish lever 34 is pivotally mounted to finish section 42 at pivot 134,and one end 136 of that lever is provided with a pin 138 which engages acurved slot 140 in the finish slide 124. Slot 140 is oriented and shapedso that the switch elements 132l32' may be retracted (when lever 34 isthe solid line position of FIG. 3) into recesses 142-142 formed in theside walls of racing lanes 14-14 respectively. When finish lever 34 isactuated to end a race, it is moved to the dashed line position in FIG.3 (see also FIG. 11) to bring the switch elements 132-132 into theracing lanes 14-14' and divert the vehicles from the racing lanes viaguideways 30-30 towards stalls 26.

The advantageous features of the start-finish device 24 may be morefully appreciated in view of the following description of operation.Assuming that four vehicles 20 are mounted in respective stalls 26, thefirst pair of vehicles are released from stalls 26.1 and 26.2 to racinglanes 14-14' respectively by moving start lever'32 from its FIG. 3position to its FIG. 9 position. Subsequently the vehicle from stall26.3 is released to lane 14 (behind the vehicle from stall 26.1) and thevehicle from stall 26.4 is released to lane 14' (behind the vehicle fromstall 26.2) when start lever 32 continues to the position shown in FIG.10. These operations cause start slide 52 to release the brakes in thestalls 26, which is followed by a rush of the vehicles onto racing lanesl4-14.

After the vehicles have been released, the spring 65 acts on the startslide 52 to return the latter to its vehicle retaining position,illustrated in FIG. 3. As slide 52 is returned, the resettingprojections 90 are moved past the switch blocks 49 to reset the stallselectors 46.

After the vehicles have traversed the track 10 a desired number of laps,the finish lever 34 is actuated to the position illustrated in FIG. 11to divert the vehicles to the start-finish track section 24. Becausestall selectors 46.1 through 46.3 are reset, the first vehicle to arriveis permitted to pass the last three stalls 26.4, 26.3 and 26.2 in thatorder, finally entering the first stall 26.1. As the first vehicleenters the first stall 26.1, the first stall selector 46.1 is trippedand pivoted into a stall opening position, diverting the next arrivingvehicle into the second stall 26.2 This latter vehicle then trips thesecond stall selector 46.2, so that the third arriving vehicle isdiverted to the third stall 26.3, tripping the third stall selector46.3. As a result, the last, or fourth, vehicle is diverted into thefourth stall 26.4.

It will now be appreciated that the precise registration of the raceresult is obtained, since the successive vehicle stalls correspond tothe other of vehicle finish at the end of the race.

What is claimed is:

l. A mechanism for starting and terminating a race between toy vehiclesadapted to race along a toy track formed with a racing course shaped toguide the vehicles from a starting position to a terminating position;said mechanism comprismg:

a track section provided with vehicle retaining stalls with guidewaycourses shaped for transfer of vehicles from said stalls to said racingcourse, each of said vehicle stalls being provided with releasablevehicle retaining means,

means for controlling the vehicle retaining stalls for simultaneousrelease of a plurality of vehicles upon start of a race,

means for diverting racing vehicles from the racing course to thevehicle stalls,

a stall selector located between the vehicle stalls and the divertingmeans responsive to an earlier arriving vehicle to direct a laterarriving vehicle away from an occupied stall to an empty vehicle stallwhereby to arrange the racing vehicles in the order of their arrival,said stall selector being pivotally mounted to the track section, oneend of said stall selector protruding into a first vehicle guidewayleading to a first vehicle stall for pivotal actuation by a vehicleentering said first stall, and the other end of the stall selectorextending to the entrance to a second vehicle stall, said other stallselector end having the shape of a switch block with a first vehicleguide surface shaped to close entry of the second vehicle stall and asecond vehicle guide surface shaped to divert vehicles to the secondvehicle stall upon pivotal actuation of said stall selector wherebyarriving vehicles are directed into vehicle stalls in the order of theirarrival, said means for controlling the vehicle stalls including a startslide movably mounted to the track section and operatively coupled witheach of the vehicle stalls to effect vehicle release and vehicleretention by the stalls upon movement of the start slide, said startslide being provided with reset means operatively engaging the stallselector for reset thereof upon start slide movement.

2. An apparatus for starting and finishing a toy vehicle race over tracksections having a vehicle racing course; comprising:

a start-finish track section of generally flat structure formed with anupper plate provided with an interconnected vehicle racing course andvehicle guideways,

vehicle retaining stalls operatively associated with said vehicleguideways to receive vehicles traveling therealong,

vehicle actuated stall selectors operatively located between the vehicleretaining stalls and the racing course, said stall selectors beingarranged to divert arriving vehicles to the stalls in the order of theirarrival, means for operating said vehicle retaining stalls in unison tolaunch a plurality of vehicles simultaneously into the racing course,means for switching the vehicles from the racing course into the vehicleguideways towards the vehicle retaining stalls, said vehicle retainingmeans being fonned of a plurality of vehicle brake arms each disposedalongside a vehicle guideway for movement relative thereto and a startslide supported beneath the upper plate and operatively coupled to eachof the vehicle brake arms whereby operative movement of said brakingarms occurs in response to movement of the start slide, and means forcoupling the start slide to the brake arms, said coupling meansincluding cam slots and cam slot follower pins, said cam slots beingprovided with respective idle segments substantially parallel to thedirection of movement of the start slide and respective active segmentsoriented to cause movement of the brake arms, at leas one of said camslots having its active segment in leading relationship, and at leastone other of said cam slots having its active segment in trailingrelationship, with their respective idle segments, whereby a givendirection of start slide movement provides sequential operation of thebrake arms with said leading segment and trailing segment cam slots.

3. A mechanism for starting and terminating a race between toy vehiclesadapted to race along a toy track having a racing course shaped to guidethe vehicles from a starting position to a finish; said mechanismcomprising:

a start-finish track section of a generally flat multilayered structureand formed with an upper plate having vehicle guideways shaped to coupleto the racing course, said vehicle guideways being located on a side ofthe racing course and arranged to define vehicle stalls each of whichhas separate racing course access means for the vehicles and a commonvehicle guideway shaped to receive vehicles exiting from the racingcourse and guide the vehicles to the vehicle stalls,

a start slide plate movably mounted below the upper plate and spacedunderneath the vehicle stalls and common vehicle guideway,

vehicle brake arms resting on the start slide and disposed to move intosaid vehicle stalls to engage vehicles, said brake arms being pivotallyengaged with the upper plate and provided with cam followers, said startslide having cam slots operatively coupled with the cam followers of thevehicle brake arms, said cam slots being oriented relative to themovement of the start slide to cause said vehicle brake arms to pivotrelative to the vehicle stalls,

a stall selector pivotally engaged with the upper plate and operativelylocated at the junction formed by the common vehicle guideways andvehicle stalls and supported between the start slide and the upperplate, one end of the stall selector protruding into a first vehiclestall for pivotal actuation by a vehicle, and the other end of the stallselector being provided with a switch block shaped to close the

1. A mechanism for starting and terminating a race between toy vehiclesadapted to race along a toy track formed with a racing course shaped toguide the vehicles from a starting position to a terminating position;said mechanism comprising: a track section provided with vehicleretaining stalls with guideway courses shaped for transfer of vehiclesfrom said stalls to said racing course, each of said vehicle stallsbeing provided with releasable vehicle retaining means, means forcontrolling the vehicle retaining stalls for simultaneous release of aplurality of vehicles upon start of a race, means for diverting racingvehicles from the racing course to the vehicle stalls, a stall selectorlocated between the vehicle stalls and the diverting means responsive toan earlier arriving vehicle to direct a later arriving vehicle away froman occupied stall to an empty vehicle stall whereby to arrange theracing vehicles in the order of their arrival, said stall selector beingpivotally mounted to the track section, one end of said stall selectorprotruding into a first vehicle guideway leading to a first vehiclestall for pivotal actuation by a vehicle entering said first stall, andthe other end of the stall selector extending to the entrance to asecond vehicle stall, said other stall selector end having the shape ofa switch block with a first vehicle guide surface shaped to close entryof the second vehicle stall and a second vehicle guide surface shaped todivert vehicles to the second vehicle stall upon pivotal actuation ofsaid stall selector whereby arriving vehicles are directed into vehiclestalls in the order of their arrival, said means for controlling thevehicle stalls including a start slide movably mounted to the tracksection and operatively coupled with each of the vehicle stalls toeffect vehicle release and vehicle retention by the stalls upon movementof the start slide, said start slide being provided with reset meansoperatively engaging the stall selector for reset thereof upon startslide movement.
 2. An apparatus for starting and finishing a toy vehiclerace over track sections having a vehicle racing course; comprising: astart-finish track section of generally flat structure formed with anupper plate provided with an interconnected vehicle racing course andvehicle guideways, vehicle retaining stalls operatively associated withsaid vehicle guideways to receive vehicles traveling therealong, vehicleactuated stall selectors operatively located between the vehicleretaining staLls and the racing course, said stall selectors beingarranged to divert arriving vehicles to the stalls in the order of theirarrival, means for operating said vehicle retaining stalls in unison tolaunch a plurality of vehicles simultaneously into the racing course,means for switching the vehicles from the racing course into the vehicleguideways towards the vehicle retaining stalls, said vehicle retainingmeans being formed of a plurality of vehicle brake arms each disposedalongside a vehicle guideway for movement relative thereto and a startslide supported beneath the upper plate and operatively coupled to eachof the vehicle brake arms whereby operative movement of said brakingarms occurs in response to movement of the start slide, and means forcoupling the start slide to the brake arms, said coupling meansincluding cam slots and cam slot follower pins, said cam slots beingprovided with respective idle segments substantially parallel to thedirection of movement of the start slide and respective active segmentsoriented to cause movement of the brake arms, at leas one of said camslots having its active segment in leading relationship, and at leastone other of said cam slots having its active segment in trailingrelationship, with their respective idle segments, whereby a givendirection of start slide movement provides sequential operation of thebrake arms with said leading segment and trailing segment cam slots. 3.A mechanism for starting and terminating a race between toy vehiclesadapted to race along a toy track having a racing course shaped to guidethe vehicles from a starting position to a finish; said mechanismcomprising: a start-finish track section of a generally flatmultilayered structure and formed with an upper plate having vehicleguideways shaped to couple to the racing course, said vehicle guidewaysbeing located on a side of the racing course and arranged to definevehicle stalls each of which has separate racing course access means forthe vehicles and a common vehicle guideway shaped to receive vehiclesexiting from the racing course and guide the vehicles to the vehiclestalls, a start slide plate movably mounted below the upper plate andspaced underneath the vehicle stalls and common vehicle guideway,vehicle brake arms resting on the start slide and disposed to move intosaid vehicle stalls to engage vehicles, said brake arms being pivotallyengaged with the upper plate and provided with cam followers, said startslide having cam slots operatively coupled with the cam followers of thevehicle brake arms, said cam slots being oriented relative to themovement of the start slide to cause said vehicle brake arms to pivotrelative to the vehicle stalls, a stall selector pivotally engaged withthe upper plate and operatively located at the junction formed by thecommon vehicle guideways and vehicle stalls and supported between thestart slide and the upper plate, one end of the stall selectorprotruding into a first vehicle stall for pivotal actuation by avehicle, and the other end of the stall selector being provided with aswitch block shaped to close the first vehicle stall and open a secondvehicle stall upon pivotal actuation of the stall selector, said startslide further being provided with a reset actuator located to engage theother end of said stall selector for reset thereof upon start slidemovement.
 4. The mechanism of claim 3 wherein selected cam slots aredifferentially shaped to provide individually controlled actuation of abrake arm upon movement of the start slide.